Hugh Jackman Wants to Keep Playing Wolverine Until He Dies

Before the release of X-Men: Days of Future Past, Hugh Jackman said that he was pretty positive that he wouldn’t be playing Wolverine much longer. But now that the actor is appearing in X-Men: Apocalypse and starring in a third Wolverine solo film — which will mark his ninth time playing the hero on screen — he seems to have changed his tune. Jackman says he wants to play Wolverine forever, and with that attitude and his massive appeal, Fox just might let him.

Jackman definitely owns the character of Wolverine. When you think of the gruff, Adamantium-clawed mutant, you think Hugh Jackman. While other actors in the X-Men franchise may change, Jackman remains a constant, with Bryan Singer even working him into Days of Future Past, effectively replacing Kitty Pryde’s role from the comics.

In a new interview with Cigar Aficionado (via E! Online), Jackman seems more dedicated to the role than ever, expressing a desire to continue playing Wolverine forever — like, until he’s dead:

I said to my wife, ‘The moral is that I should never stop playing Wolverine. I’ve got to find a way to keep playing him until I die.’ I know that someday they’ll recast the role with another actor…I’d be happy if the role was eventually recast. It would mean that it had become iconic.

Jackman’s role as Wolverine has already become iconic, as he’s the only actor to have appeared in every X-Men movie at this point. Fox may recast the role in the future, but that’s not happening anytime soon, especially not with the current streak of successful (and pretty good) X-Men movies.

The actor also discussed how he likes to keep pushing himself every time he reprises the role, consistently striving for improvement:

I always want to be in better shape than I was for the last one. I don’t believe in stagnation. People say they try to maintain the status quo. But I believe the natural cycle means you’re either advancing and getting closer to something or you’re receding…Every time I play Wolverine I want to go further, physically and emotionally.

Jackman will appear as Wolverine in X-Men: Apocalypse, which hits theaters on May 27, 2016, followed by a new, untitled Wolverine solo film on March 3, 2017.

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